Stranger
by NeverTooLate03
Summary: Oneshot of Danny and Sam finally coming out with their feelings for each other.


**Stranger**

**A Danny Phantom Story**

* * *

"You guys have to help me!" Sam Manson told her friends as she slammed Danny's door shut and through herself on his bed screaming into his pillow.

Danny Fenton and Tucker Foley were playing a very fierce battle of some new ghost killing game on Danny's computer when the Goth girl came in to scream into Danny's pillow. They were both surprised when she came in so much so that her entrance caused both boys to lose their battle and groan.

"Well, I guess we have no choice since you ruined our game," Tucker replied turning around to face Sam.

Sam threw a pillow at his head for his response and glared at him. "Sorry but real life is more important," she told him crossing her arms across her chest.

Danny came to sit next to Sam on his bed, "Okay, Sam, what's wrong?" He asked her concerned and weary from his last night's ghost battle with Ember. He has been battling her and other ghosts for three years now and Danny still could not get used to the effects Ember's music had on him.

"Please tell me you guys are free for Saturday night! Please, please, please!!" Sam demanded them.

Tucker shot Danny a curious look, "Why I do believe our dear Ms. Manson is begging for our help. This is a once in a lifetime occurrence Mr. Fenton. Don't you agree?"

Danny nodded playing along with Tucker's game as he continued, "I do agree, Mr. Foley, what could this mean?" Danny rubbed his chin feigning to think hard.

"Total chaos for all?"

"The world turning into complete darkness?"

"No more pink?"

"No more meat?"

Tucker gasped.

Danny chuckled.

Sam punched them both.

"I'm not kidding guys," she told them as they both rubbed their arms, "I need to know, seriously this is important. For me?" Sam looked at them both pleading with her eyes.

Tucker became serious, "Sorry Sam, my parents are taking me to see my cousins Saturday, so I won't be back till' Sunday." Sam sighed and then turned to Danny. Her last hope.

"I promised Jazz I would help her out with some college thing that night. And then I have to patrol," Danny sighed, "Saturday night's the worse." Danny looked at Sam, she looked crestfallen and sad. "I'm sorry."

Sam just shrugged her shoulders, "I understand guys, I really asked for selfish reasons anyways."

"And what reasons were those, Sammy?" Danny asked.

Sam reached down and grabbed her purple backpack she dropped on the floor and started going through it. She pulled out a beautiful mask. It was mostly black with feathers that had purple tinges and glitter placed around the eyeholes of the mask. Sam put the mask up to her face for a second and Danny swore his breathe caught in his throat. The mask highlighted her violet eyes so well that she looked like a dark goddess.

_If only…, _Danny thought.

"My parents are making me go to a costume party for all the _rich_ kids in the state. Everybody is supposed to dress up and wear a mask so nobody knows who you are until midnight when the masks come off." Sam finished her explanation with a scowl.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Tucker said while playing with his PDA.

"Doesn't sound too bad?" Sam asked sarcastically. "My parents are trying to set me up with some rich snob! That's the whole point and why I needed you guys to come; to keep the vultures from picking me off." Sam shuddered.

"Oh, come on Sam, you can do that all on your own," Danny told her while fighting back images of Sam dancing with a handsome masked stranger. _That can't happen…_

"Maybe," Sam sighed, "but it would be so much easier if one of you guys were there to help." She tucked one of her black locks behind her ear and then looked at the time. "Well I have to go before my mom decides to make my dress pink. Bye guys!"

They said their goodbyes and Danny stared longingly out the door wishing he was free that night. Stupid Jazz. Stupid ghosts.

"You know, I'm pretty sure Jazz will let you off if you're going to admit to Sam your true feelings," Tucker suggested smirking at Danny.

Danny glared at him. "You know I can't do that. What if she doesn't feel the same I could ruin our friendship."

Tucker rolled his eyes at him. "Whatever man, I think you are making a big mistake." Suddenly Tucker was struck with an idea to finally get his two best friends together. "Hey Danny!"

"What Tuck?"

"It's a masked costume party, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Danny asked clearly not getting Tucker's idea.

"So…you should dress up as a mysterious stranger and talk to Sam at the party about her feelings for you." Tucker suggested excitedly.

"Yeah, great idea Tucker, except you forgot the fact that this is _Sam_." Danny put his head in his hands. "Stubborn, sarcastic, cynical, beautiful Sam."

"So?" Tucker asked now not getting Danny's problem.

"So! There is no way Sam would say something like that to a total stranger!" Danny exclaimed.

"Yeah, but who knows our Sammy better than anybody?" Tucker asked raising a brow. Danny smiled at him and suddenly ran out of his room.

"Hey Jazz!" Danny yelled into the hallway of his home hoping to convince his older sister to help him.

* * *

Sam Manson stared at herself in her full length mirror contemplating faking an illness so she didn't have to do this. She hated these high class society parties her made parents make her go to. Every one, Sam had decided, seemed to get worse but she never thought that her parents would go this far. They wanted her to meet a nice, rich snob and get married.

_Yuck,_ Sam thought, _in their dreams._

The only bright side Sam could see in her dilemma was that her mother finally caved in and let Sam buy any dress she wanted to wear as long as it was appropriate. Sam smiled when she remembered the first time she laid eyes on the dress. It was stunning hanging on the rack but on her…it just looked beautifully right. And it felt right…like a second skin to Sam. The black straps that covered her shoulders felt like silk and the bodice fitted comfortably around her body making moving around in it extremely easy for Sam. The black darkness of the dress slowly faded into a dark purple from the top to the bottom. The bottom of the dress flared out from her hips down into silk curtains that fitted nicely around her legs. Sam sighed as she slowly twirled around looking at herself in the mirror thinking of her best friend.

_If only…, _Sam repeated in her thoughts.

Sam was driven out of her musings when she heard her mother gasp from the door.

"Aww Samantha, you look beautiful," she told her daughter, "I love that you let your hair down." She came over to stand behind Sam stroking her hair while placing a purple rose from the garden in her hair. "And that dress," Sam waited for her mother's insult but it never came, "it matches your eyes perfectly."

Sam spun around to face her mother, her eyes widen with shock at her mother's compliment. "Thank you," Sam said quietly.

Her mother smiled at her and then ushered her out of her room and into the limo that was waiting out front. Sam was lucky enough to have her black bag and mask in her hand because she was sure that her mother would have forgotten them in the rush to get Sam to the party.

One hour later Sam was drumming her fingers along the white tablecloth at her parents' table watching kids her age dance to classical music wishing she was somewhere else. Sam already had a couple guys come up to her to ask her to dance and she was forced to do so thanks to her mother's death glares. So, now taking her mother's lead, Sam was now shooting death glares the best she could to any male in the room hoping to avoid any stuck up attitudes from rich boys who all they could talk about was themselves. If only, Danny or Tucker would have came this would have all been avoided.

Sam sighed and looked at the clock, she had two more hours to go before she could take off her mask and be done with it. To waste time, Sam decided to head to the bathroom and possibly hang there and maybe call Danny to see if he could distract her from the predicament her parents put her in. Unfortunately, Sam had let her death glare dwindle and a red-haired boy stood in front of her, his eyes roaming all over her body.

Anger filling Sam she said, "No, I will not dance or talk with you," she started to walk away when the guy grabbed her arm.

"Excuse me do you know who _I_ am?" He asked her as his held on her tightened.

"No," Sam told him flippantly, "and I don't care to."

"Why you-," before the red-haired boy could finish his sentence a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Excuse me," a new voice entered the conversation, "would you kindly please take your hand off of my little sister." The boy released his hold on Sam startled at the new boy's presence. Sam's eyes widened as she watched the red head stalk away. Then she turned her attention to her apparent savior and her breath caught. The new boy in front of her was nicely tanned with bright green eyes which were covered by a white mask that covered more than half of his face and if it wasn't for the brown hair the boy had she could have sworn Danny was her savior.

"Uh-thanks," Sam told him rubbing her shoulder.

"You okay?" He asked her and when she nodded he continued, "Sorry about that I assure you not all guys are like that jerk."

"It's not your fault," Sam told him her shock finally wore off, "and I don't need to be assured that. My two best friends are guys."

"Lucky them," he told her and Sam blushed, "listen you seem pretty cool and I can't handle being made to dance with anymore brats," Sam saw that he visibly shuddered and had to hold back a giggle, "would you mind if I hang with you for the rest of the evening?" Sam could tell the guy was nervous by the way he rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his eyes to the floor. She smiled. This was the perfect escape route. No more jerks. No more arrogant assholes.

Sam shrugged her shoulders. "Sure," she told him as he smiled at her, "anything for my big brother."

The stranger gave her a boyish grin and held out his arm. "May I have your hand milady?" He asked Sam and she couldn't help but smile.

"Of course my lord," she replied as he led her off to the dance floor.

At ten till' midnight Sam had learned three things about her stranger. First off, he was a horrible dancer. Every minute it seemed to Sam he would end up stepping on her feet or stumbling but it was so funny and adorable that Sam quickly forgave him.

Second, his personality and humor fitted right along with Sam's and she was quickly growing more and more attracted to him. But she couldn't help the pang in her heart every time she thought of Danny. Then Sam would remind herself that she and Danny were not together so she shouldn't feel this way, but her feelings could not be spared which led to the third thing she knew.

This stranger, whoever he was, reminded Sam of Danny. Or everything she loved about Danny. The boyish looks and personality. His humor and clumsiness. But above all the stranger's voice, even at some points, seemed eerily familiar to Danny's.

Sam mentally slapped herself. _You're crazy, _she told herself, _you have fallen so hard for your best friend that you can't stop comparing him to the perfectly good guy in front of you. Get Danny out of your head and heart because it is never going to happen._

Sam suddenly stopped dancing as she was hit with the truth and realization of her thoughts. Her last words ringing in her mind, _it is never going to happen._

Her partner noticing Sam's sudden stillness went over to her and immediately noticed how upset she was. Wasting no time, he gently took her hand and guided her off the dance floor to a secluded balcony he had spotted earlier.

He took both of her hands and reminded himself that he was not suppose to know this beautiful girl in front of him and then spoke, "what's wrong, milady?"

Sam didn't look up at him but stubbornly locked her eyes with floor not wanting to be embarrassed to have a stranger see tears in her eyes. She shook her head, "nothing's wrong," she answered him her voice quiet.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked her insecurity filling his voice.

That made Sam look up at him, "oh no, you didn't do anything wrong," she paused uncertain on whether or not to continue, "It's just..," she stopped.

"What?" He asked leaning in to hear her clearly.

"You uh," she paused, "ugh you remind me of someone," she admitted quietly.

The boy froze for second before he regain his composure. Where did he go wrong? Had she figured it out?

Sam noticed her stranger freeze and tried to reassure him, "no it's not a bad thing."

He released a breath he had not realized he was holding and then told her, "then why are you upset?"

"I can't explain it."

"Okay," he paused while he searched for the right question to ask, "Who do I remind you of?"

Sam tensed. He defiantly had found the right question. She took a deep breath before answering, "my best friend."

He chuckled. "And that's a bad thing?"

Sam nodded but then shook her head. "I don't know," she sighed.

"You're right; you really can't explain it, can you?"

Sam laughed without humor, "well, I guess I could it's just hard."

The boy let go of Sam's hands and took a couple steps back till' his back was leaning against the wall. "You can tell me you know, I won't judge. Unless you don't want to share."

Sam went across to the edge of the balcony and leaned against the railing. She thought about her stranger's proposition. It would be nice to let it all out. To tell somebody else of her inner conflict but what if, this drove this guy away. And Sam didn't want that; she really did like him.

"You promise?" She asked him.

"I promise I won't judge," he told sincerely walking over to Sam to stand next to her.

Sam fixed her gaze opposite of the boy and took a deep breath. She was about to spill her deepest secrets to a stranger!

"Okay, well for years now I have been in love with my best friend, Danny," finally she admitted it out loud. "and well, like I said you remind me so much of him that it just feels like being with you and not with him…it feels like I am betraying him or something. Does that make sense?" She asked turning to look at him. Sam noticed that his eyes were wide as if he was shocked with something she had told him.

_Maybe this was a mistake,_ she thought.

"Sorry I shouldn't have told you," Sam told him in a whisper as she started to walk away but was quickly stopped by a gentle hand on her wrist.

"Yes," he told her gently, neither of them were looking at each other, "that makes sense." She turned around to face him. "What doesn't make sense is why you are hiding your love for him?" He asked her this knowing perfectly well that he was being a hypocrite for it but he needed to know why.

Sam sighed and he released his grip on her wrist as she came to stand next to him again, contemplating his question. "Because," she told him, "I don't want to ruin such a great friendship over something that may never happen."

_That's the same reason why I didn't tell you…_

"You care a lot for him."

"Yes," Sam stated but it was so much more than that.

"You should tell him," he advised this which took Sam by surprise.

"What? Why?" She asked turning to face him as he faced her.

"Because what kind of an idiot wouldn't _not_ love you in return," he told her truthfully as filled the gap between them. Sam smiled at him.

"Thank you," she told him searching for something she didn't know in his eyes. Then they both jumped as the clock trolled signaling the party goers that midnight was here.

"You're welcome milady, now I should get going," he told her nervous that he should have gotten away sooner but Sam's confession had taken him off-guard.

"No! Wait, I want to know who you are," she pleaded as he turned to run away but then stopped when he heard her plea. He looked down at the stone floor as he decided on what to do but when he finally did Sam had already taken action. She stood in front of him and he realized that her mask was already off to reveal her beautiful face. Then Sam took the purple rose out of her hair and placed it in his hand. He looked at her waiting for an explanation.

"I understand if you don't want to show me who you are," she told him, "but I want you to know who I am and I am giving this rose so if you decide to come and see me without hiding than I will know that it's you. My name is Sam Manson and thank you." And with her thanks she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, blushing madly. When she pulled away she decided that it would be best to walk away first so she did, but then she was suddenly pulled back by him and into his arms. Before she could react his lips crashed down on hers gently coaxing them to kiss him back. And she did.

When they finally broke away from each other breathing heavily Sam tried to convey in words how much that meant to her but was unable to due to her lack of air.

The stranger recovered first, "No, milady," he told her softly, "thank you." And with that he ran off.

* * *

The next day Sam Manson was lying in her bed looking up at the ceiling. She had been like that for hours now, pondering the events of last night. Her mother even came in to check on her almost three times now and every time she would try to get her daughter to divulge information about what had happened that night. To her mother's annoyance Sam wouldn't answer her or even move. This was starting to make her mother worry so Sam promised herself that she would get up and try and act _okay_ to appease her parents in an hour.

Sam had woken up at 9:32am precisely and she had instantly felt a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she could not get rid of. It was driving her absolutely insane that one guy or perhaps two guys could do this to her. But it was her stranger's words and actions that had her most confuse. First he told her to tell her best friend her true feelings, and then he goes and kisses her…passionately.

And Sam loved it.

It took her a few minutes to gather herself from the puddle he left in before she could make her way back to her parents. That also scared her. That a stranger she barely knew could do that to her and it made her question everything she had ever felt about him and Danny. But Danny was her best friend and nothing that has or will happen will ever change her feelings for her halfa. But if Danny will never return her feelings than maybe her and her stranger could….

_NO! _ Sam berated herself, _boys are not objects! You can't just say oh I want this one but if it doesn't work out then this one will do. Ugh…_

The only thing Sam had decided to do was to listen to her stranger's advice and tell Danny. She had to know how he feels about her or her arguing with herself was pointless. Just then she heard a knock on her window and the familiar coldness that would only come because of a certain halfa. Sam stared stubbornly at the ceiling not even daring herself to move knowing full well that seeing him would cause her to feel guilty. She heard him land on her floor and chuckle.

"You know the least you can do is pick up your phone and tell me you were just going to mope around all day," he told her, "so I wouldn't worry." Sam had been ignoring her constant ringing cell phone as well as her mother.

_Well it's now or never,_ Sam told herself still not moving from her spot on the bed.

"Did something happen last night, Sammy?" He asked her concerned. She heard him place something on her nightstand table as he came over to sit on her bed.

Sam sighed, "I guess you could say that."

"She speaks!" Danny exclaimed which earned him a smack on the leg.

"Gee, thanks for your concern," Sam told him sarcastically, smiling for herself for the first since last night.

Danny mock gasped, "of course I am concerned, my best friend has been ignoring my calls and has been lying in the same spot on her bed for hours so forgive me for being thrilled when she actually speaks and moves."

Sam suddenly shot straight up in her bed to look at Danny. "How did you know that?!"

Danny chuckled at how easily he got her to move. "Your mother, actually." When Sam raised a brow he explained more, "I know I was shocked too but apparently you were worrying her so much so, that she called me to see if I could do anything."

"Wow..," Sam said her mouth forming into an 'o' shape as she took in that information, "I really must not be acting like myself."

"Yeah," Danny rubbed the back of his nervously before asking, "what happened Sam?"

"Oh, well I...," she trailed off not knowing what to say.

"Did you meet someone?" Danny asked her as he watched her cheeks become a slight pink color.

"Actually, yeah I did," she confessed looking down at her bed sheets.

"Well, if I didn't know any better I would say that Sammy really likes this guy…but no…Sammy would never fall for a rich snob, right?" Danny asked playfully poking her.

"I guess I really do like this guy," she admitted as Danny stopped poking her.

"Really?" Danny asked softly and it was his turn to stare at Sam's sheets taken back a bit. He didn't expect this. He thought that this would have prodded Sam to finally admit to him how she really felt.

_Damn it, _Danny thought, _maybe if I didn't kiss her…_

"But I really like another guy too," Sam brought Danny out of his thoughts, "and now I am just really confused, is all."

Danny hid a smile as an idea popped in his head. "So what's the name of the guy from last night?"

"Oh well that's actually part of the problem, I have no idea what his name is, none…nada..," Sam trailed off. "But he does know who I am and if he comes looking for me I will know it's him."

"How?" Danny asked completely calm and Sam cringed as she thought that he really didn't have feelings for her since he wasn't complaining about her liking somebody else.

She sighed, "I gave him a rose."

Danny laughed outright unable to control himself, "a-a rose? What if it dies?" He asked her.

"Oh, well I didn't of that," she told him lightly smacking him on the back of his head, "but I will still know if he comes looking for me." Sam told him confidently.

"Really?" Danny asked now even more amused. "How?"

"I just will…because I know his personality and humor," she told him proving her point, "and plus he would be the only one to know what we talked about last night, you know? Private jokes and such."

Danny laughed again, he couldn't control himself Sam was just adding fuel to the fire.

"This is not funny!" She exclaimed hitting his arm at every word she spoke.

"Oh, yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes it is, milady," Danny finally revealed himself getting off the bed doing a little bow.

"No it-," Sam gave a loud gasp as she realized what Danny had just said and widen her eyes in shock as she stared at the infuriating, raven-haired halfa. Danny just stared back waiting for her to say something when he caught her eye looking at what Danny had placed down earlier on her nightstand table. Sam covered her hand with her mouth as she stood up to examine the object closer not believing what she was seeing.

There on her nightstand table was a small vase with her purple rose still beautifully alive. Then she shot her eyes back to Danny who was still waiting patiently for Sam to speak.

"It-it was you…," she trailed off looking at him with a look of wonderment mixed with horror.

Danny nodded sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Sam," he told her, "It was just the only way I knew of to make sure."

"To make sure of what?" She asked not really wanting to know the answer but still curious.

"That Tucker and Jazz were right about you and your feelings." Sam felt the sting of tears threatening to fall. So, she was right. Danny didn't love her.

"Oh," she said lamely trying to cover up her tears by looking down.

Danny not being fooled quickly grabbed Sam's hand and made her look up at him. "Hey, don't cry. Why are you upset? I'm sorry," Danny told her trying to calm her down.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sam asked him finally breaking down. "You can't just make me confess something like that and then kiss me, run away and now, just a minute ago you were laughing about like it was some kind of cruel joke!" She forced her hand out of his grasp and turned away from him.

"Oh Sammy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to be some kind of joke." Danny told her softly hugging her from behind.

"Then…why?" She asked quietly, liking the feeling of her being pressed into Danny.

"Because I was too much of a coward to just tell you straight out…I love you too, Sam." Danny whispered in her ear causing her to shiver. Sam turned around to face him and gave him a small smile as he wiped away her tears with his thumb. And then she returned his kiss bringing her hands up to wrap around his neck as he deepened the kiss while stroking the lower part of her back.

When they broke apart Sam said, "Well I guess this solves my dilemma." She laughed a little as she laid her head on Danny's chest listening to it rumble as he laughed with her.

"Did you really have no idea, it was me?" He asked her curious. "I really thought I gave myself away a couple times."

Sam shook her head. "Nope. No idea, what so ever. I'm guessing that Jazz and Tucker helped you out, right?"

Sam felt him nod. "Yeah…damn it." Sam broke the embrace to look at her halfa eyebrows raised silently asking what he meant.

"Let's just say that I promised them if _this_ worked out…I would…do some favors for them for free," Danny confessed.

Sam chuckled and laid her head back down on his chest. "We'll see about that. They are going to have a hard time getting you to themselves now."

"Really, Ms. Manson?" Danny asked amused. "And why would that be?"

"Because you're mine and if they try to take you…well let's just say I'll take care of it," Sam smirked evilly as Danny laughed.

"That's what I was counting on, milady."


End file.
